


Embers

by FireFaceOutlook



Series: Orenda [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Firefighter!Gabe, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 20:23:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12660768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireFaceOutlook/pseuds/FireFaceOutlook
Summary: Dying wasn't what it was cracked up to be.





	Embers

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N: Lena - 14**   
>  **Hana - 7**   
>  **Jamison - 13**   
>  **Jesse - 25**   
>  **Olivia – 18**   
>  **Jack and Gabe are probably in their forties, but since they don't have official ages, I can't really give more than that.**   
>  **This is my first Overwatch fanfic, so let's see how it goes.**

Dying wasn't what it was cracked up to be. It sucked that Gabriel was getting this revelation while experiencing it himself. He worked as a firefighter for _years_ , being the first to dive into danger to rescue others and being the last one out the door. It cost him big this time. The floor above him had collapsed too fast. At least the little girl had gotten out before the rubble blocked the doorway; it was the last thing he saw before he was surrounded by nothing but burnt wood, glowing embers, and a thick haze of smoke. He was pinned to the floor from the waist down and he could barely make out the growing pool of blood in the dim light of the fire. He could certainly feel its effects, though – his legs were numb, the cold was reaching across his whole body, and the wet sensation of the blood soaked through his uniform and shirt. His helmet had been knocked off at some point between the second floor giving out and him pushing the child out of the way. All the better for him as, phone in hand, he tried to type a number he knew by heart. He always kept the brightness on its lowest settings to preserve battery on the crappy thing, and his efforts were made even more difficult by the cracks that marred the surface, but he pressed the call button when he finished and forced his arm to listen to him as he pressed it against his ear.

It rang once, twice, thr--

“Hello?”

The familiar voice had his whole body relaxing. He could hear multiple excited voices setting a soothing cadence in the background.

“Hey, _cariño_ ,” he rasped. He thanked any god above that his voice had been afflicted by smoke inhalation years ago, so it was unlikely that Jack would notice anything was off. The crackling of the wood around him was soft enough to his own ears – or was he being effected more than he thought? – that he was fairly certain that it couldn't be heard over the phone.

“Oh, Gabe!” Jack sounded surprised, but happy, too. Gabriel _had_ left for the fire station just hours earlier. He usually didn't call until lunch. “Is everything okay?”

“What, I can't call my husband and kids to see how their first day of winter break is going?”

Jack offered a half-hearted groan in response. Between the two of them, they had five beautiful children, all fostered relatively early in their lives. Lena, Hana, and Jamison were Jack's while Jesse and Olivia were Gabriel's. Their ages ranged from seven to twenty-five; Jesse and Olivia were legal adults, though Olivia was still finishing her final year of school.

“I kept getting my ass handed to me in Monopoly, so I stopped playing,” Jack grumbled.

Gabriel laughed, even though it hurt. Jack was never very good at board games. The voices in the back erupted into shouts and he could faintly make out Korean and Spanish curse words in the mix.

“Hey!” Jack yelled back at them. “I'm on the phone, kids.”

“Can I speak to them, Jack?”

“Yeah, hang on.”

A moment of waiting that felt like an eternity passed before he was being assaulted by the kids, obviously on speakerphone, all shouting, “Hi, _papi_ /daddy!” 

It warmed his heart. If this was the last time he heard their voices, he wanted them to be happy so he could keep the memory close.

“Hey, _mocosos_. You're not causing Jack any trouble, are you?”

“No,” Lena replied for them all. She was Jack's first child, fourteen years old now, and practically a track star in their school. She broke all the records, and anyone looking to break hers were in for a rough time. “We're just having some fun. When are you coming home?”

Gabriel's gut twisted painfully. “I don't know.”

“Are you okay?” Olivia asked. She was a genius when it came to computers, or electronics in general. “You sound tired.”

“I deal with all kinds of idiots here,” he said. “It's hard not to be exhausted by them all.”

All the kids laughed. There was a scraping sound, then Hana, the youngest, was speaking. Hana had been put into the foster program as an infant and hadn't clicked with anyone until Jack. She loved video games and was on her way to the top ranks of some of them already. Her voice was clearer than her sisters' had been. She must've pulled the phone closer to herself.

“When you come home, can you make us hot chocolate?” she asked, then added in a stage whisper, “Dad's isn't as good as yours.”

His lips stretched into a smile that trembled at the edges. “Sure. But you know I have late nights a lot. If it starts to get too dark out, have Jack make it anyway.”

“Okay.”

The sounds of the phone moving signaled it being passed around again and Gabe knew who it was that took it before they even spoke.

“I finished my leg today! You should see it! It's ace!”

Jamison was practically a prodigy, though he didn't like to put his big brain to use when it came to schoolwork, and had been working on his own makeshift leg in the garage for almost a year now. He'd lost an arm and a leg in an incident at a young age and while Gabe and Jack scraped together enough money to get him a new arm, he's been stuck in a wheelchair for years. The rest of their money had gone towards finishing his radiation treatment for leukemia; his hair had just recently begun coming in great, fluffy tufts.

“I bet it is, Jamie.” Gabriel stifled a cough in his shoulder.

“Alright, you guys,” Jesse interrupted. “Let's let the _viejo_ get back to his job.” He assumed that his eldest had picked up the phone. Jesse was by far the most troublesome child Gabe had ever met, but he grew up to be a good man.

“Jesse,” Gabriel said quickly, not wanting the call to end yet, “make sure you take care of your siblings. And help Jack around the house.” 

There was a pregnant pause before Jesse responded. “Yeah, of course I will.”

He sounded confused, but that was fine.

“Alright. _Te quiero, niños_. Let me speak to Jack again.”

When Jack was back on, the phone off speakerphone as the kids' voices faded in the background, Gabe heard Jesse mutter something about him acting weird.

“What did you say?” Jack asked, sounding far too amused.

Gabriel sighed, closing his eyes. It was getting harder to breathe, and he was so tired. But he wasn't going to die on the phone, so he had to end this soon.

“Just making sure he knows he's my favorite cowboy.”

Jack snorted. “Uh-huh. Anyway, it's Christmas tomorrow. You have the day off, right?”

“Yeah.” _Not that it will matter._ “So I better get back to work before I get that privilege revoked.”

“The kids would be pretty disappointed,” Jack agreed. “I'll see you tonight, then.”

“ _Te amo_ , Jack,” he said. _Always._

“I love you too, Gabe.”

Gabriel hung up first; he didn't want to hear the finality of his life closing in. He dropped the phone and let his arm go limp beside his head, too exhausted to move in any other way. He wasn't ready to die, but at least when he did, he could be content with the fact that his family knew he loved them.

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N: Now the question is do I let it end like this? Does Gabe die? Or does he live in another part?**
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> ****  
> _Prompt used: Person B knowing their undoubtedly about to die within the next few seconds, likely from the gaping wound they're bleeding out from. Instead of calling for help, they phone Person A and carry on a casual conversation as if nothing is wrong, making sure to mention how much they love them before their time runs out._  
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End file.
